


Jinx

by Marli13



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Comedy, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, M/M, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:22:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28763994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marli13/pseuds/Marli13
Summary: As you navigate your 7th and final year at Hogwarts, you find yourself wrapped up in a lot more drama than you anticipated. Harry Potter alternate universe. Female reader, enemies to lovers, slow burn, nsfw :)
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Emily Prentiss, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Spencer Reid, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/William LaMontagne Jr., Luke Alvez/Reader, Spencer Reid/Reader
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> jinx  
> noun  
> 1\. A type of Dark Charm, who effects are irritating but amusing
> 
> PLEASE READ: Although this story takes place in the Harry Potter universe, it won’t include very many characters from the original series, so don’t expect to see anyone like Harry/Ron/Hermione or Voldemort mentioned. The only characters from the HP universe that are included will be professors. Any history/events from the HP universe that happened in the series will not be mentioned either, this is simply a story of “what would it look like if the CM characters went to Hogwarts?”
> 
> This is a comedy/romance. There will be a happy ending!
> 
> This story includes dark themes of domestic abuse, rape, and overall violence.
> 
> Please consume this media at your own risk.

Ch. 1: The Train

Spencer’s POV

Spencer liked to wait for a majority of the train to unload before he left his compartment. The underclassmen were always so loud and pushy, and for many the ride to the castle was so long that they wanted to get it over with as fast as possible so that they could get their coveted seats at their respected house tables. 

Spencer didn’t really care for any of that at all. The pomp and circumstance of the routine had worn off for him, and he was just ready to be done with school. He loved Hogwarts, especially as a child who had grown up in the Muggle world, but he was ready to spread his wings in the Wizarding World.

He had spent a majority of the train ride reading ahead in his textbooks just so that he wouldn’t struggle when classes started next week. He opened the compartment with books in hand, about to step out when suddenly someone collided with him. He dropped all of his books on the ground in shock, grabbing at the compartment door to keep himself steady.

“Oof! Sorry!” exclaimed a familiar voice. He looked down.

It was you, with your hair slightly messy, green tie askew around your neck. Spencer resisted the urge to sigh exasperatedly. You were always so loud, so shameless, so brooding. You never cared about what anyone thought of you, and it showed in your words and actions, your blatant disregard for rules and social norms.

“It’s fine,” Spencer replied coolly, fixing his glasses on his nose. He had spent the last six years ignoring you; a seventh wouldn’t be too difficult. He bent down, picking his books up. To his surprise you actually stopped to help him, your fingers brushing against his as you handed one to him. 

He had never touched you before, it had never crossed his mind, and for some reason it caught him off guard to find that your hands were soft. He shook the strange thoughts off, clutching his books more tightly as he made his way off the train without another word.

-  
Your POV

The Hogwarts train stopped and you sighed, standing up from your seat on the train.

“Ready to go?” Emily asked, fixing the green and silver tie around her neck.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

You started to fix your matching tie as well, hoping that it wouldn’t slide to the side like it always did. Snape always gave you shit for that.

“Take a look around, this is probably the last time you’ll ever see this train from the inside,” Derek called, sidling up to you and Emily.

“I didn’t take you for someone who was very nostalgic,” you replied.

“You’re gonna get in trouble for not being in uniform,” Emily pointed out, yanking at Derek’s yellow tie that was draped loosely around his neck. Derek elbowed her, knocking her into you, which threw you off balance. You stumbled, tripping and falling into the closest carriage. 

“Oof! Sorry,” you apologized, righting yourself and looking up at who you had bumped into.

Ugh. None other than know-it-all Spencer Reid. He thought that just because he was a Ravenclaw, it meant he was smarter than everyone in the room. 

“It’s fine,” he replied haughtily, pushing his glasses further up onto his nose. From the tone of his voice, it obviously wasn’t fine.

You realized that not only had you crashed into him, he had dropped all the books in his arms between the both of you. You knew it was in good form to help him pick them up, though you really didn’t want to. But Emily and Derek were standing to the side, waiting for you, and you knew it was the “right thing” to do. So you bent down with him, helping him collect his books wordlessly. And then without another word, he brushed past you as if you had never existed in the first place. 

“You’re welcome!” you called back annoyedly.

“Don’t take it personal, girlie.”

You looked behind you to see another Ravenclaw, a girl named Penelope, standing behind you. She was a friend of Derek’s and in the same year as you, him, and Emily, but you hadn’t really had much interaction with her beyond that. The two of you were still friendly though. 

You gave her a small smile.

“Thanks.”

Derek threw his arm around her shoulders, giving her a quick platonic kiss on the cheek.

“How was my girl’s summer?”

They fell behind you and Emily, so much so that they got into a completely different carriage. You and Emily got stuck with a few Gryffindors, Aaron and Luke. Aaron was a silent type; he did well in classes but mostly kept to himself, which was strange considering he was the team captain for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and one hell of a Keeper. You could count on one hand the amount of times you had seen him smile. Luke, on the other hand…

He truly was something. He was cute in a rugged type of way, and a flirt in many different ways, who enjoyed goofing off more than actually learning. You’d had a few steamy encounters with him up to date, but had never pursued anything else. He was a nice guy, you’d give him that, but he just wasn’t what you were looking for. He wasn’t serious about almost anything except maybe Quidditch; he was a Beater, so he would constantly obtain bruises, bloody noses, the occasional black eye. 

Luke grinned when he saw you sit across from him. He immediately engaged in playful banter with you, and you returned it with a laugh. You conspicuously kept a close eye on Emily and Aaron. You watched as they both stole glances at each other, never actually making eye contact. You resisted the urge to smile. Maybe they’d finally do something about that. 

As for you?

You were just trying to finish school. You enjoyed learning, truly, but you were ready for a change. You weren’t fully set on what you wanted to do after leaving Hogwarts, but whatever it was, you knew it was going to be great.


	2. Disappointment

You had thought you’d seen everything this school had to offer, but perhaps not. The first weekend before classes was one of your favorites, one of celebration and festivities. It was also one of secret parties, one where people set the tone for the rest of the year. That being said, the big parties were getting too crowded, too loud, too boring. It wasn’t fun to be surrounded by sweaty strangers anymore. So when Emily extended an invitation at dinner, you were hesitant to accept.

“It’s not a big one,” she reassured you. “It’s Penelope’s. It’ll be really, really small. I’d be surprised if even ten people were there.”

You bit your lip in contemplation. If there were that few people, there was a chance that you’d be the odd one out. If it was a party for close friends, you were sure you would be the furthest from Penelope’s friendship. It felt more like a pity invite than anything else. 

“Um…”

“Just say yes!” Emily insisted. “If you don’t have fun, you can just leave. Plus-”

“Okay, okay, fine! I’ll go,” you relented.

“Yes! Plus, I’m pretty sure I was going to be the only Slytherin there so I was a little worried for a second.”

You suppressed a laugh. Although people were sorted into houses based on their personality, the stereotypes surrounding them could become a bit ridiculous. Everyone has the potential to be in any house they wanted; it’s about preference and personality characteristics. You could have been in any other house if you wanted to, but you enjoyed the pursuit of ambition and the cunningness that many Slytherins possessed. The ability to think quickly on your feet was a trait that not very many people are blessed to have.

It definitely came in handy later at Penelope’s party. It was in a random classroom on the sixth floor, hidden away in a far corner of the castle. It was extremely casual, not very many people in attendance at all; Emily and Derek of course, Spencer and another Ravenclaw who you thought was named Alex, Luke, another Gryffindor named Tara, and a Hufflepuff named JJ. Somehow, Penelope had managed to sneak in some booze, so almost everyone was drinking. You had a little bit, but refrained from drinking too much. Somebody had to take Emily home.

Your sobriety had been able to wiggle you out of a few games like seven minutes in heaven, king’s cup, and other drinking games, but apparently spin the bottle was mandatory. It was a silly little game, and you were honestly confused as to why you _had_ to play, but Penelope insisted.

“It’s a throwback night, girlie! We’ll never be this young again. Get down here!”

With a small sigh, you lowered yourself from the couch to the floor, sitting in a circle with everyone else. You hadn’t played this game in a really long time; it got old the more you did it. But you hadn’t ever played with this group of people, so you were a little interested to see where it would go.

Alex was the first to spin, and the bottle landed on you. She smiled shyly, and you realized she was probably a little too timid to make the first move. You moved towards her, placing one hand on her cheek so that you could kiss her delicately on the lips. You rolled your eyes as the group made some noise, Alex blushing from her place on the floor. 

It wasn’t as thrilling as it used to be, but still entertaining. Derek and Luke were fully committed to the cause, both trying to push boundaries with everyone else. When it was their turn to kiss each other, they absolutely went at it, Luke grabbing at Derek’s collar while Derek run his fingers through Luke’s hair. They pulled away quickly though, both laughing at their own drunken actions. There seemed to be a few sparks between Emily and JJ (you were almost positive that you saw some tongue), but JJ and Spencer also seemed to have some chemistry. You didn’t know the two of them that well, but the way her hands flitted to his chest and his hands cupped her jaw made you think there was a little more going on than what met the eyes. Penelope and Tara were the cutest by far, although Alex and Luke were a close second.

You were in the middle of talking to Emily beside you, so you almost didn’t notice when the bottle landed on you again. Emily elbowed you, and you looked around the circle to see who it was. 

Spencer.

Derek was sitting between the two of you, so he scooted back to give you access to each other. You leaned forward, and to your surprise you felt Spencer’s warm hand on your cheek. He kissed you chastely, his lips soft and fleeting against yours before he pulled away. It was kind of funny, honestly. Here he was, playing a kissing game, when you were sure he had probably never kissed anybody before tonight. Poor guy.

The party wound down not too long after that, and everyone left in pairs at different intervals, sneaking back to their respective common rooms. It took you awhile to get Emily down to the dungeons; she had a tendency to be a little loud when she was tipsy. You got her into bed, the one next to yours as it always had been, and placed a glass of water on her nightstand for the morning. She would definitely need it. 

You took a quick shower then, brushing your teeth and getting ready for bed. You had fun tonight. It wasn’t what you had expected, and you were a little disappointed that you didn’t know enough people to really be yourself, but you had time to change that. You really liked Penelope a lot, and you honestly wondered why you had never thought to spend more time with her before. It was probably because you saw her as Emily’s friend and not your own, and you didn’t want to infringe on something that belonged to Emily.

But Emily wasn’t a hugely territorial person, so really you had no excuse for not doing this sooner. That’s okay, though. You still had some time left. You decided now was the time to make the best of it.

-

Spencer’s POV

Penny was a mess. Spencer loved her, he truly did, but she had no self-control when it came to drinking. Thankfully she had only been able to sneak in a smaller supply of alcohol, so she couldn’t get too wasted. He had to shush her all the way back to the dormitory, her giggles echoing across the stone walls and into the tower staircase. He stopped at the entrance to the common room, waiting for the question from the bronze doorknocker that he knew was coming.

“What has an eye, but cannot see?”

“A needle,” Spencer replied quickly. He had heard that one before.

“Correct.”

That was one of the easier ones. The riddles got progressively more difficult throughout the year, but the knocker usually started out with simpler questions for the first-years. Spencer ushered Penny through the empty common room to the stairwell to the girl’s dormitories.

“I can’t go further up the stairs. Just get some water and some sleep, okay?”

Penny giggled, leaning over to give him a small kiss on the cheek.

“See ya tomorrow, Spence,” she giggled, grabbing onto the rail tightly as she made her way up the stairs. Spencer sighed. He had been nervous about going out in the first place; he was Head Boy of Ravenclaw, and setting a precedent of sneaking out like this wasn’t good. But nobody had seemed to notice that he wasn’t around, even as he entered his own dormitory to take a quick shower.

He played over the events of the evening in his head. For some reason, the thought of kissing you crossed his mind. You were insignificant to him; he was surprised you had even been invited at all. But Emily was a very good friend of Penny’s, and you were practically Emily’s best friend, so it made sense that you would have been there. You also ran with Luke and his crowd, so that could explain it, too. 

It seemed that you knew you were the odd one out, too. You purposely excluded yourself almost all night, barely drinking, not participating in almost any games until Penny put her foot down about it. Spencer had done mostly the same thing, although he played the drinking games with water so he didn’t feel left out. You weren’t sulking by any means; you had chatted and laughed along with everyone else, but you were quieter and more withdrawn than he would have expected. Perhaps these types of parties just weren’t your thing. You had the tendency to be rambunctious and outspoken at times; something quieter didn’t really seem to be your style.

It was strange, though. He had watched you kiss almost everyone, and you were confident, dominant almost. But when it came to him, you had been soft, almost hesitant. Why? And then he realized that it didn’t matter, because he had kissed Jennifer for the first time.

It was common knowledge that she was involved with Will, another Hufflepuff, so Spencer was confused about her sudden enthusiasm to kiss him. He couldn’t stop thinking about the way her hands felt on his chest, how soft her hair felt under his fingers when he had placed his hand on her jaw. Her blue eyes were so beautiful, so full of innocence. He wondered absentmindedly if she would get another black eye or broken nose from Quidditch this year. She was one of the best Chasers that Hufflepuff had gotten in the past few decades, even giving Aaron a run for his money on some of her great plays.

Spencer didn’t care much for sports, but he wouldn’t turn down a chance to see JJ on the Quidditch pitch, her hair tied up as she rode around on her broomstick. Spencer personally didn’t like heights and wasn’t one for flying, but he could appreciate the art, especially when someone as pretty as JJ was doing it. 

He turned the water off, drying himself and getting dressed quickly so he could go to bed. Maybe this year was going to be different for him.

-

Your POV

A few weeks later, you grinned at Penelope over the textbooks you shared, trying not to laugh too loud seeing as you were in the Ravenclaw Tower. It was a strange feeling for you to be in somebody else’s common room; it was an unspoken rule that Slytherins were never to share their common room with other houses. The fact that Penny was so forthcoming made you feel like the two of you were going to be very good friends. 

You were working on a Herbology project together, the first of the year, and she was sketching out the plants as you were writing down some of their properties from the textbooks. You were speaking to Penny, but was interrupted by Spencer walking up, his voice quick and full of excitement.

“She asked me to go to lunch with her in Hogsmeade!” he exclaimed in a hush tone. Penny squealed, clapping her hands together and practically jumping around in her seat. You sat back in your chair quietly; this wasn’t something you were supposed to see, and in their moment of celebration it honestly felt like you had been forgotten about.

If you had to guess, they were probably talking about JJ. But you couldn’t quite figure it out because they never used her name. Penny came up with a whole game plan while Spencer leaned over her, nodding along with what she had to say with a contained grin on his face. You sighed lightly under your breath after quite a few minutes of this; you were getting bored. Apparently you weren’t as quiet as you thought you had been, because Spencer turned to look at you for the first time, as if he hadn’t even registered that you had been sitting there before he had arrived.

“We’ll talk about it later,” he said finally, turning to Penny. She smiled up at him, squeezing his forearm in encouragement before saying her goodbyes. She turned back to you, a smile still on her face.

“Sorry!” she said apologetically. “I didn’t mean to take so long. He’s just really excited. I mean I’m excited for him! He’s been waiting for something like this for awhile.”

“That’s nice,” you replied, smiling politely. To be quite honest, you truly didn’t care. “So, back to mandrakes…”

-  
Spencer’s POV

The first trip to Hogsmeade was always the best. The familiarity of the little village, the beautiful scenery, and the unique shops always filled Spencer with a great deal of nostalgia. Sometimes he wished he could go back and experience seeing it for the first time again. Having an eidetic memory truly had its drawbacks.

Spencer met up with JJ at the Great Hall, and they set off together. Spencer loved seeing other students in their casual clothes; the school uniforms took the individuality out of everything. JJ had her blonde hair down today in loose waves, and a nice scoop neck shirt showed her collarbones quite nicely. Not that he was paying attention to her chest or anything, but he couldn’t deny that it was very flattering on her.

“How do you feel about lunch at the Three Broomsticks?” he asked, smiling hopefully down at her.

“Oh, I’m sorry… I already ate,” she replied sheepishly. 

“Oh, no, that’s fine! We can have a Butterbeer or two, it’s no problem at all!”

That was how the entire day went. Spencer tried to make conversation, he really did, but it seemed like JJ either wasn’t interested in what he had to say, or didn’t know enough to have a conversation with him about it. He felt like he was talking too much, so at one point he stopped, trying to let her take control of the situation. Instead, she chose to stay quiet, the both of them wandering around shops without a word, not buying a thing.

Spencer was ashamedly happy when their friends waved them over at the Three Broomsticks. You and Emily had just gotten up to leave, giving small smiles and making room for Spencer and JJ to huddle into a booth with Penny and Derek. Spencer let the three of them speak while he sat silently, trying to figure out how to salvage this date.

Or was it a date? JJ hadn’t said that it was, but she had insinuated that she wanted to spend time with him here. Perhaps she was nervous? But the more Spencer thought about it, the more he got the feeling that he and JJ were just not… compatible. It was frustrating to say the least. He had been pining after her for longer than he would like to admit, and having this be a total letdown this early in the year, after he had gotten his hopes up, was disappointing.

The kiss that they shared was just that; a kiss. Nothing more. Maybe she didn’t have feelings like that for him. Maybe it was the alcohol that was talking for her, maybe she changed her mind about how she felt. Spencer held back a sigh, watching as his three friends interacted without him. He decided he would stick with Penny and Derek the rest of the trip; at least then JJ could say that she had a little fun.

Saying goodbye when they got back to the castle was even more awkward. Spencer wasn’t sure whether to hug her or not, if she was even comfortable with that, but time was running out. He gave her and Derek a peace sign ( _really?_ A fucking _peace sign?!_ ) as they walked off, smiling as he said goodbye. The second they were out of earshot, Penelope started in on him.

“So! How did it go? Tell me everything, no secrets!”

“Honestly…”

Spencer hesitated, and he saw Penny’s face fall at his tone of voice.

“We don’t have to talk about it!” she said quickly, trying to save him from the embarrassment. Spencer was more than thankful for that. He really didn’t want to relive today, although he knew he would be forced to remember it for the rest of his life.


	3. Study Date

You nodded at Spencer and JJ as you and Emily walked past them, out of the Three Broomsticks and into the streets of Hogsmeade.

“So what else are we doing?” Emily asked.

“Well…” 

She looked at you, her face aghast.

“Barely six weeks in and you’ve already got yourself a dick appointment? Really?”

“Hey!” You felt a flush creep across your cheeks. “It’s not like I’m going to fuck him or anything-”

“Does _he_ know that?”

“You’re just jealous that Aaron went to Hogsmeade with Hayley and not you.”

It was Emily’s turn to blush this time.

“I- well- you know what-”

“Quidditch starts up in a few weeks, just get him with a Bludger and you’ll be fine.”

Emily was one of the Beaters for the Slytherin Quidditch team.

“I’m not going to purposely injure someone because I’m jealous.”

“Everyone else does! Plus, I bet he’d look hot with a black eye.”

You winked at her and she shoved you to the side, trying to suppress her grin at your laughter.

“Talk all the shit you want,” she said. “I’m not the one who made out with Cat right after she got her nose broken. How did you get her blood on your _shoes?”_

“The more important question is why _you_ didn’t stop her from getting her nose broken in the first place. She’s one of the best Seekers Slytherin’s had in years, you need to protect her at all costs.”

“Yeah, because I’m sure you would have kissed her even if she _didn’t_ have blood all over her face.”

“Yeah, actually! I would have!”

“Prove it.”

Emily grinned at you, and you rolled your eyes. Cat was notorious for being a bit… obsessive when it came to romantic relationships. It was usually in everyone’s best interest to stay away if they weren’t serious about getting involved with her. You had learned that the difficult way.

“Shut up.”

“Fine. So… who are you meeting when we get back?”

“Tommy.”

“Wheeler? The one who remade Greek fire two years ago and almost completely destroyed half of the third floor?”

Your silence was the only answer she needed. She sighed exasperatedly.

“And what are you and Tommy gonna do? Set the library on fire this time?”

“No!” you answered defensively. “It’s a study date, we’re doing some Charms homework together.”

“Ohhhh… _Charms.”_

“Shut up, Em!”

-

Tommy was… boring. There wasn’t any other way to put it. He was nice and all, but not what you were really looking for. It’s not like you were actively pursuing a relationship, it’s more that you were just fooling around until you found something that you really liked. His sister was a good friend of yours, and you thought that maybe her personality would have rubbed off on him. That was sadly not the case. You sat across from him in the library, the both of you working intensely.

“I think I’m done for the night,” he said, starting to pack up his books. “Do you want to… go someplace else?”

You weren’t done perfecting your spell, and you really weren’t interested in going any further with him.

“No, I think I’m gonna stay,” you said. “I want to make sure I can get this right.”

“Oh… okay.” 

You could see he was trying to hide his disappointment. 

“I’ll see you later then.”

“Alright, bye.”

You waved at him as he left, and turned back to your book. This had to be easier than you were making it. Not too long later, someone came to stand behind the seat that Tommy had been occupying. You looked up to see Spencer Reid standing there, his book bag slung over his shoulder.

“Are you working on the stuff for Charms?” he asked. 

“Uhhh… yeah.”

Why was he talking to you?

“Do you mind if I work on it with you?”

“Uh, sure. No problem.”

You cleared some of your books out of the way so that he could occupy Tommy’s seat.

“Do you mind if I look at your notes?” he asked. “Easier than pulling my own books out.”

“Yeah, I don’t mind.”

As the two of you sat there working together, you noticed he was more… withdrawn than usual. You had gotten your spell right a few times in a row so you took a small break to watch him work through it himself. He looked different without his uniform. His hair was scruffier. He still wore a button down, but this one was a light green, tucked very loosely into his blue jeans. He looked up at you from your notes, and you realized how the light green of his shirt brought out the hazel in his eyes. You tried to seem casual, as if he hadn’t just caught you staring at him. Thankfully, he acted as if he hadn’t even noticed. Maybe he didn’t.

“What do you mean by ‘circular motion’ here? Is it clockwise, or counter-clockwise?”

“Counter-clockwise,” you answered. “When you’re done, you have to flick your wand slightly to the left.”

“Show me really quickly how you do it.”

“Okay, sure.”

You didn’t like being put on the spot like that at all, knowing he was going to be watching every move you made. He was one of the best, if not the best, in your class. You wordlessly showed him the Color-Changing Charm on the quill you had set aside, turning it from jet black to a light green. You didn’t realize until after that it matched the color of his shirt.

“I’ve got the smaller things down, I’m just working on bigger stuff right now,” you added. His brow was furrowed as if he was thinking deeply. Without a word, he drew his wand and cast the spell, turning the quill from green to crystal blue. He smiled lightly at it for a moment, but something seemed to sour his mood almost immediately, his face turning into one that resembled disappointment. 

“Nice,” you said, complimenting his on his work. You were impressed, if not at little annoyed, at how quickly he had gotten it compared to you.

“Thanks. So what bigger objects are you working on right now?”

“I did this book a few times, I was going to work on the banners in the astronomy tower next. Flitwick only asked us to be able to change one thing at a time, but I know you can do multiple. I just want to see if I can do it.”

He nodded pensively.

“Sounds good. Do you mind if I tag along?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Do you want to go now?”

“Sure.”

What were you supposed to say to that? No? This was strange, to say the least. You had never spent time with Spencer one-on-one in the last seven years that you had been here, seeing as he had never expressed interest in wanting to spend time with you. He wasn’t as annoying like this, not as wound up as he normally was. It was definitely refreshing. 

The both of you packed up your bags and headed to the astronomy tower. You were both quiet the entire way there. What was there to say? You wanted to make conversation, but you truly didn’t know enough about him to even make conversation. He stuck by close to you, never touching but close enough that you could feel how warm he was through his shirt. The two of you set your things down on the benches, turning to face the banners on the walls. 

“Ladies first.”

You took a deep breath, stepping forward and lifting your wand. You cast the spell, and although on of the banners changed color, the other two didn’t. You and Spencer both took turns casting, some slightly successful and some not at all. Finally, Spencer was able to do it, grinning as the deep red cloth turned into a royal purple color. You wouldn’t admit it, but your pride was a little wounded. You had been working on this longer than him, and seeing him accomplish it first knocked your ego down a peg. 

“Good job!” you congratulated him.

“Thanks!”

He had a nice smile, you realized. Had you actually ever seen him smile before? Maybe you had just never noticed when he did. 

Either way, you turned back to the banners with a sinking in your stomach. The two of you had been working on this for the better part of the afternoon and evening. Dinner was coming soon and Spencer would surely leave you alone here to go eat. You might just skip dinner if you couldn’t get it right in time.

Surprisingly, Spencer did not leave you on your own. He continued to stand with you patiently and observe quietly, waiting as you cast the spell over and over again. You were starting to get frustrated; it was one thing for him to beat you at this, and it was another thing entirely for him to witness you fail again and again.

“Wait, do that again,” he commanded after one of your attempts. You had gotten one banner to change and the second one to start, but it reverted back to its original color. The third one remained unchanged.

“Uh… okay.”

Isn’t that what you’d been doing for the past 45 minutes anyways? You cast the charm again, and he stepped in when you were done with another half-successful attempt.

“You’re not using enough wrist,” he said. “You’re just a little too stiff. Try again.”

“Alright.”

You didn’t like his tone of voice, but you tried one more time, yet again only getting partial results. You resisted the urge to sigh. At this point, you kind of just wanted to give up and go eat. But then most of your time this afternoon would have been wasted. Spencer stepped a little closer, his hands hovering above the hand with your wand in it.

“May I?”

“Sure.”

Anything to get you out of here. His warm touch was soft but firm as his fingers wrapped around your wrist, his other hand encompassing your closed hand so that you were both holding your wand.

“When you cast,” he started, “after going clockwise, you need your wrist to go further to the left. Have you ever played baseball? Or I guess softball? I mean, if you know what that is-”

“Yeah, I know Muggle sports,” you replied, trying not to be snarky. Your father was a Half-Blood; you had grown up in a mixed household of magic and Muggle culture.

“Okay, good. When you’re up to bat, you have to do what they call follow-through. Essentially, when you hit the ball, you don’t want to stop swinging your bat completely. You need to continue to let your arms and body rotate along with the swing even after you make contact with the ball. If you stop the swing immediately instead of following through, you’re doing damage to your wrists and shoulders. Make sense?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, good. So what you need to do is follow through with your wrist when you flick to the left. Don’t stop it short, let it follow the path until you can’t roll your wrist anymore. Like this.”

He used his hands around yours to demonstrate how you needed to move before letting go and stepping back to give you some space.

“Try it again.”

He was being a little bossy, and it was starting to get on your nerves. How would he know if it even worked anyways? And yet, you watched in awe as the three banners in from of you turned from royal purple to a pastel pink. 

“Wait, I did it?”

You turned to Spencer to see him smiling at you.

“You didn’t do that, right?”

He held his hands up to show that they were empty.

“That was all you. Great job!”

“Thanks!” 

You turned to look at your work again, unable to stop the grin on your face. You had just about given up on it.

“Now I think,” he started, “that you should turn them back to the original color and then we should go eat. It’s getting a little late.”

“Yeah, you’re definitely right. Give me a second.”

You turned back to the banners, effortlessly changing their color back to the original red, and then both of you grabbed your things and headed down the stairs. There still wasn’t much to talk about at all, but the awkwardness before had turned into a mood of celebration. As you got to the Great Hall, you looked up at him.

“Thanks so much,” you said with a smile. “I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime,” he smiled back down at you. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you later!”

The two of you went your separate ways, and Emily eyed you suspiciously as you sat down at the Slytherin table.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” she asked.


	4. Distractions

Spencer’s POV

Spencer didn’t take you for the kind of girl that did homework on weekends, so he had been quite surprised to see you sitting in the library Saturday evening, working diligently on what looked like the classwork for Charms. He was even more surprised when you allowed him to sit with you and tag along to the Astronomy Tower to work together. You seemed preoccupied with your work, so focused that you probably didn’t even notice his frown when he realized he had chosen crystal blue for the quill because it was the same color as Jennifer’s eyes. He really didn’t want to think about it. 

You provided a distraction; not much, but a distraction nonetheless. You weren’t loud when you were with him; mostly withdrawn, seeming almost sullen at times. But you were still encouraging and polite, and Spencer couldn’t help but be proud at the progress you had made with your spellwork. You were nice, he finally decided. Not that he had ever really spent time thinking about it; he had never really stopped to get to know you after your first or second year together. What was the point? You two were obviously incompatible. 

But you had smiled up at him sweetly that evening as the two of you entered the Great Hall, thanking him for his help. He couldn’t resist smiling back at you. He had actually had a good time with you that afternoon. He had said he would help anytime, and he meant it. It would be nice to have a more consistent study partner. Penelope wasn’t much help a lot of times.

As much of a distraction as it was, Spencer did enjoy the group study he did with his friends a few times a week, though. You, Emily, and Luke had started to join, which was fun at first, but it had recently started to get excessive. There were barely enough chairs in the crowded library and definitely not enough spots at the table to begin with. People had to take turns sharing seats, and the volume got out of control fairly quickly considering Luke and Derek were always fooling around. But Spencer loved his friends, and even if he didn’t get as much work done, he enjoyed that it was time spent with people he cared about.

Later the next week, you and Emily had come in late. Everyone at the table watched in anticipation as it dawned on the both of you that there was only one free chair left. You had seen it first and made a dash for it, but Emily tripped you and you stumbled. Spencer pushed back a laugh as you tried to drag Emily down with you, but she shook you off effortlessly and bounded forcefully into the last chair, Derek steadying her as it threatened to tip over with her in it. The both of you were still out of breath, and you grinned as you got to the table, slapping her in the arm playfully.

“I’ll get you back for that!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever!”

And then came the ever-increasing dilemma of figuring out where you were going to sit. There weren’t any other available chairs nearby, and you couldn’t just stand there. Everyone at the table looked around at each other, and in the blink of an eye everyone threw a finger to the tip of their nose. Spencer completely missed it, and they laughed at his utter cluelessness.

“Wait, that’s not fair!” Spencer protested. “I wasn’t ready!”

“Then you’ll be ready next time!” Penny giggled, elbowing him in the ribs. “Scoot over so she can sit.”

Spencer moved to the side of his chair so that you could get in next to him, but he realized that the table was so crowded that there really wasn’t even room for the both of you to sit side by side. He made a split-second decision, moving back to the middle of the seat and looking up at you.

“Come sit down,” he said, patting his thigh.

“What? No. Just move over, I can sit next to you.”

“There’s not enough room, come on.”

You pursed your lips, and he realized the fleeting concern that flashed across your face could mean that you were insecure. Why? You didn’t have anything to be worried about.

“It’s fine. You won’t break me,” he added with a small smile. 

“Okay, fine,” you sighed. Spencer parted his legs and waited as you angled yourself between him and Penny, adjusting your skirt before straddling his thigh hesitantly. He resisted the instinct to grab your hips as you found a way to balance yourself there after setting your bag on the floor next to you. It was rude of him to touch you without your permission. 

It was a little bit difficult to do his classwork with you sitting there, though. He had to lean forward just so he could see the paper more clearly, and he had a tough time trying not to press his chest to your back. It was an even larger struggle when you finally relaxed against him, and Spencer eventually gave up on his efforts. You didn’t seem to mind his touch so much.

He was so engrossed in his own work that he had tuned everyone out, and it took him a lot longer than it should have to realize that your body had gone stiff. He paused and took a moment to assess the table, trying to figure out what had just happened. But everyone was going on without a care, and the sudden ceasing of movement made him realize that he had been bouncing his thigh in concentration, the same one that you were sitting on. You had to be uncomfortable. It was difficult enough to sit in someone’s lap, and it was something else entirely when they wouldn’t stop moving. He felt bad, murmuring a “sorry” that only you could hear, and tried to turn back to his work. But he got distracted by something that Alex had said, and then before he knew it, it was time for dinner. 

Everyone got up to pack their things, and Spencer found himself almost missing how warm you were against him when you stood up. It had been awhile since he’d felt a warmth like that…

-

Your POV

You hoped you were being subtle with the looks that you were sending Luke’s way from across the table. Nobody seemed to catch it but him, and a small smirk played at the corner of his mouth for the rest of the afternoon. You avoided his gaze until everyone started to leave for dinner, meeting his eyes quickly as a confirmation that he would be there. He nodded at you very slightly, and you hid a smile. You made an excuse to Emily about needing to grab something from somewhere else and slipped away from the group.

You hadn’t intended for this to happen. Truly, you didn’t. But the way Spencer’s leg had bounced underneath you, right between your thighs, had you feeling more hot and bothered than you would have liked to admit. You had been nervous about the entire thing from the start; you were insecure, afraid you were too big to share a chair in the first place. So when he had suggested his lap, you had gotten even more uncomfortable. But Spencer had been respectful, and if you had bothered him at all he didn’t say a word about it.

You had no time to think about Spencer right now, though. You were too focused on stilling the butterflies in your stomach as you made your way from the first floor to the deserted third floor, walking down the corridor and ducking into one of the familiar vacant classrooms as soundlessly as possible, sitting down in one of the chairs that was hidden from the view of the door. You didn’t have to wait too long; less than ten minutes later, Luke was slipping through the door, closing it behind himself. He turned around the corner to face you, a full-blown smirk making its way across his face.

“You couldn’t wait until after dinner?” he teased, setting his bag down on the floor.

“No,” you replied, feeling a blush creep onto your face. 

“Get up,” he commanded, prodding at your shoulder. You stood with a sigh and waited as he sat in the seat you had previously occupied. He placed his hands on your hips as an invitation, and you straddled his lap, putting your hands on his shoulders for balance. You were face to face now, his beautiful brown eyes staring into your own with a mischievous twinkle.

“You’re so good to me,” he said softly, his hands slowly running up and down your thighs. Chills ran up your spine, and you resisted the urge to close your eyes and savor the feeling.

“Don’t get used to it,” you warned.

“Yet you’re the one who’s so needy.”

“I’m not-”

“Do you want this or not? We can leave right now. Everyone will be wondering where we are, anyways.”

Your cheeks were warm, and you almost felt ashamed of yourself. Almost.

“I want to stay,” you said quietly.

“I thought you might,” Luke replied with a smile, leaning forward to kiss you softly. You ran your hands down from his shoulders to his chest to his belt buckle, dancing your fingers across the supple leather. Luke broke away from you, shaking his head with a grin.

“Not today, gorgeous. We only have time for you if you want to actually make it to dinner.”

“Oh,” you replied, pulling your hands away quickly. “We don’t have to then, if you don’t want. It’s not fair to you.”

Luke squeezed your thighs in his hands, leaning forward so that he could place kisses along your neck and jawline.

“Who said it wasn’t fair?” he murmured against your skin. “I still get to think of you like this when I’m alone…”

He trailed off, and you closed your eyes as he kissed that one sensitive spot on your neck, the one that he knew drove you crazy. You sighed in pleasure, becoming hyperaware of the way one of his hands crept up your thigh, slipping under your skirt with ease. You wrapped your arms around his neck to keep yourself anchored and buried your head in the crook of his neck as he ran his fingers lightly around the edges of your panties, never quite touching you where you needed him to.

“Please,” you whispered, and you felt his chest vibrate with the small chuckle he let out.

“If you insist.”

He dragged your underwear to the side, running his fingers up and down your wet slit before slowly inserting a finger inside of you. You tensed against him and he moved his free hand to your back, holding you closer and rubbing you there comfortingly. He fingered you slowly, then added another finger after you had relaxed slightly and started to twist them inside of you, hitting all the right places. You moaned lightly, and he took that as his cue to increase his pace.

“Come on,” he said softly. “I know you can do it.”

You nodded against his shoulder, panting as he started to thumb at your clit. Small whimpers escaped your lips, and you clutched at his shoulders harder as if that would bring you there faster. Without warning, Luke pulled his face back so he could look you in the eyes. It seemed as though he was contemplating something, and then he started to bounce you lightly on his thighs. A loud moan slipped out of your mouth from the new feeling of friction.

“That’s right,” he nodded. “Just like that, gorgeous.”

As his speed started to increase, he kissed you to muffle the noises you were making. He pressed on your clit harshly one last time, and you came all over his fingers, biting at your lip to keep yourself quiet. You slouched against him and he held you close, drawing his fingers away from between your thighs and into his own mouth.

“Good girl,” he murmured. A calmness settled over your mind and body as you sat there with him, and the feeling of his fingers running over your hair could have lulled you to sleep. But as your breathing settled and your mind became clearer, Luke was dragging you away from himself, using one hand to lift your face up to his as the other wiped at the smudged makeup under your eyes. You could feel his hard on pressing into your thigh, and you looked at him concernedly.

“Are you sure I can’t do anything for you?”

He shook his head.

“No, not today. Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it up to me later.”

Your grin mirrored his own. It was in the moments like these that you wondered what it would be like to date Luke. You enjoyed his presence, his humor, his personality. But his issues with commitment and his refusal to ever take anything seriously always stopped you from going any further than this. Your stomach growled.

“Dinner?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” you laughed. Your thighs ached from the uncomfortable position they had been in, and Luke, seeing that you had issues standing, threw an arm around your waist to keep you balanced as the both of you walked through the deserted halls. 

Conversation was light with him, as it always was. Luke was… easy. It’s not that you didn’t like easy, but sometimes it got boring. You appreciated him, though. Your agreement had started a little less than a year ago, but by now it had been enough time for the two of you to devise a system and a few bad habits. It was extremely casual, and he had been more than flexible with you on the terms. The both of you needed to blow off steam sometimes, and it was simpler to do it together than with someone you didn’t know. 

That’s not to say that neither of you slept with other people; you had to stop seeing him for a few months last term because he had gotten a girlfriend. It didn’t make you upset by any means, but his girlfriend definitely didn’t seem to like you. He was doing what made him happy, and if it meant you had to try a little harder just to get laid every once in awhile, then oh well. 

There was an understanding that the both of you wouldn’t get involved romantically. It just wasn’t his thing, and you didn’t really like him like that. You tried to keep the situation hidden for the most part since it would be difficult to be involved with someone else if they thought you were dating each other. But every once in awhile you would slip up or make a mistake, and today happened to be one of those days. 

Usually, the both of you separated from each other before entering a room together. Most of the time you would leave Luke in whatever place you had been while you went to wherever you needed to go, and he would wait a few minutes before walking out behind you. You had forgone that practice today, partially because you were so worn out but partially because it was dinner. Nobody was going to be walking the halls.

Luke had made a particularly funny joke, and as you looked up at him and laughed, you missed seeing that someone had rounded the corner and was walking straight towards you until it was too late.

“Hey, guys!” Penelope said cheerily. You resisted the urge to freeze, completely aware of the fact that Luke’s arm was still around you and that you hadn’t taken as much time to put yourself back together as you normally did after your encounters.

“Hey!” Luke called back with a smile.

“Hi, Penny!” you said, waving at her. She passed by you without another word, which was not like her at all. You had grown accustomed to the fact that if you ran into her, no matter what day or time, she would make you stop and talk your ear off unless you insisted that you had somewhere to be. This behavior wasn’t normal. You shot a look over at Luke and he shrugged noncommittally. The moment Penelope was out of earshot, he leaned down to speak to you in a low voice.

“It’s fine. There’s not that much she can say, anyways. Just forget about it.”

You sighed.

“You’re right. I’ll leave you here, though.”

He smiled softly.

“Alright then. See you later, okay?”

“Okay!”

You had expected him to let go of you, but he took that moment to pull you closer to him so he could kiss the very top of your head. 

“Okay, now go,” he said, tapping you on the ass lightly.

“You’d better quit that!”

“Or what? What are you gonna do about it?”

You rolled your eyes at his smiling face, turning around so you could finally get something to eat.

-

Spencer’s POV

“You need to stop doing this,” Spencer said, plucking the lit cigarette from between Penelope’s fingers.

“Hey, at least it’s not weed,” she protested. “Then you might actually have to confiscate it. Give it back.”

Spencer took a quick drag, blowing the smoke out into the cool night air of the Astronomy Tower before handing it back to her.

“They’ll kill you, you know,” he warned.

“Yeah, I know,” she scoffed. “Hypocrite.”

The both of them were silent for awhile as they stared out onto the school grounds. 

“Really, though, what’s going on?” Spencer asked gently. “You only smoke when you’re worried about something.”

Penny was silent for a moment before she answered.

“What do you think about Luke Alvez?” 

“Luke? Well…”

Spencer took a moment to really think about it. He already knew where this was going, though.

“I can’t say that I really know much about him. Why?”

“It’s nothing, really. I don’t know. He seems like a nice guy, right? I mean he’s really polite, he laughs a lot. I think he has some really good jokes, too, and he’s really good at Quidditch and-”

“Penny, you’re rambling. And since when have you ever cared about Quidditch?”

She sighed lightly.

“You’re right.”

“Why the sudden interest, then? You’ve never really mentioned him to me before except for in passing.”

“I don’t know. I guess… I saw him with someone else today. And I don’t even know if anything is going on, probably not, but I mean it’s none of my business even if there is something. It just made me feel… icky when I saw it. I kinda wanted it to be me, ya know?”

Spencer looked over to see her dejected face staring out onto the school grounds. He couldn't help but think about how he saw JJ and Will laughing and joking around at dinner earlier that evening.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “I know.”


End file.
